WTF am I missing with The Da Vinci Code?

Solitudinarian

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I have read the book and seen the movie and have been heartily intrigued by both, but never once was ever convinced that it was anything but FICTION. Despite the amount of research and effort put forth by Dan Brown, it is currently and will be for all time, FICTION. I managed a bookstore when the book was released and watched it sit at the number one spot on several sales lists in the FICTION column. The Library of Congress classifies the book as FICTION under several catergories. I understand that the written word carries a bunch of clout with a bunch of people, and many people whole-heartedly believe everything they read, but the peolpe saying that this book is forcing them to question their faith and protest and news agecies have art historians and theologians on primetime interviews to refute the "facts" in a work of FICTION! Are these people so weak in their beliefs that they can be shaken to their very foundation by a work of FICTION? I understand that this is not the first time for this type of incident (Rushdie and The Satanic Verses), but this one is way out of hand, and i just don't get it, can somebody clarify, please.
 
I went to see it on Friday for the hell of it and there were a handful of people protesting outside of the tiny, local, independent, maybe 500-seat (if they're lucky) theater up the road. I didn't really pay much attention so i really don't know what they're protesting. It made me want to go bug them and ask them stupid questions about it, and then it made me want to protest something inane like oranges. I want to stand outside of a grocery store and protest oranges because they're racist. That's right. Oranges set a negative stereotype for orange people; that they're round, plump, juicy, and delicious. It's just wrong.
 
Yeah and the reason people believe it is because at the beggining of the book it tells you everything is fact even though its not. Dan Brown changes little things in history that noone notices so it will all make sense. I protested in a different way. I saw Over the Hedge on the DERvinci Code's opening night to draw from its sales. One person maybe, but it makes that much difference. Plus over the hedge was hilarious.not
 
Doesn't the book have one of those disclaimers at the front that says something like "all of the events, characters, and etc. in this book are works of fiction and are not intended blah blah blah"? I mean, come on, really, what kind of gullible idiot actually believes Dan Borwn was trying to say "OMFG dis is all tru!!!1one!"

And what does "DERvinci" mean?
 
Eh, the book isn't that well written to begin with (some of the language and plotting is complete garbage actually), and Dan Brown's research is either sloppy or heavily pruned in order to fit his story. The book is fiction. It's in the fiction section of the bookstore. It sits on the bestseller lists under "Fiction". It's not Holy Blood, Holy Grail, the book Dan Brown based a lot of his premise on (and got sued for it).

From what the critics are saying, the movie isn't supposed to be that good anyway.

BTW, it's funny how people protest this movie for its alleged Anti-Catholicism and the possibility it may unduly influence people's faith and their opinions on history and current events. These same people most likely had no problem with Mel Gibson's lurid and provocative "The Passion of the Christ", a movie that utilizes metaphor and plotting not strictly from the biblical passages. What if he, all unknowingly, sparked anti-semitic responses from the Christian community just like Passion Plays used to during the Middle-Ages? Well, it didn't really come to pass, so I'm betting that Christianity will remain firmly entrenched in American society.
 
Well, the history and locales are actually spot-on. In fact, the Catholic Church actually gave him a tour of all the no-visitors locations.

Thing is...IT IS A NOVEL. On the cover (of the one I read) it said A NOVEL BY DAN BROWN. Novels can NOT be non-fiction. A "non-fiction novel" is a memoirs. Or a biography or something. NOT a novel.

I'm a Catholic, but I think that these protests are a massive load of bull. Even if you consider the book outwardly critical of the Catholic Church, there's nothing wrong with that, to a degree. It isn't like they're pulling a "Politcally Incorrect" where they're saying that Pope John Paul II was a rapist, Mother Theresa was a cannibal and Jesus was a pedophile. The book is just telling a STORY that involves real organizations. Hell, if Sony cried foul because in Michael Crichton's novel, Timeline, he chalked up the world's problems to them, Disney and Panasonic. Granted, religion and corporations aren't the same...but there's no real foundation for all the outrage over this movie. And just like the Passion of the Christ, and even the Grand Theft Auto game series, it's all the bitching and complaining that s going to make it such a success.

Plus, the Catholic Church deserves to be criticized. And getting to the root of the story, would it really matter at ALL if Jesus DID marry Mary? Or if Jesus was, or wasn't allowed to drink alcohol? Or any of that other stuff? Seriously, it doesn't really matter. Jesus said to be good, love thy neighbor and all that good stuff, and that's really all that matters when it comes to Christianity.
 
Spuds, I think the biggest issue brought into question by the novel is the divinity of Jesus. The novel suggests that His divinity was decided upon by a committee many years after He walked the Earth. That's the one people have their panties in a bunch over.

That said, it IS just a story. I don't think it will really sway many people one way or the other. All the "facts" supporting the theory behind the book are contained within the book. Many are ficticious. None of it is proveable. I'm not too worried. Let the man make his millions. Enjoy the story for what it is, a STORY.
 
mlvassallo said:
The DiVinci Code novel was slow and boring with little character development.

Plus, Dan Brown is a rip off artist.

To me it felt like a decent mystery was ruined by the plot going on around it. Not to mention Dan Brown's inability to write natural dialog, or his incredibly stilted descriptions of, well, just about everything.